


Tokens

by cinderfell



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Gift Giving, THEY LOVE EACH OTHER AND SHOW IT THROUGH GIFTS OKAY
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-19
Updated: 2016-11-19
Packaged: 2018-08-31 21:03:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8593675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cinderfell/pseuds/cinderfell
Summary: Percy's always been the one to give gifts; it's only fair that Vex tries to give him something too.





	

**Author's Note:**

> s/o to me for finishing something a month after starting it

Vex has never really thought of herself as a clingy significant other, but given what they’ve survived (and what they technically _didn’t_ survive) it’s hard not to want to spend as much time as possible with Percy. Even in quiet moments like this a tiny voice in the back of her mind reminds her that time is fleeting and they could both be dead tomorrow. It’s not the sort of thing Vex would like to think about when she’s curled up like a cat on Percy’s bed, a book open on her knees as she watches him move on the other side of the room.

He’s been trying his best to relieve Cassandra of some of the burden on her shoulders, taking on more of the paperwork side of things, but his distaste for the actual duties of lordship is very apparent. Every couple of minutes he sets down whatever he’s looking at and begins pacing around the room before finally stepping back to the desk where he’s working to scribble something down and immersing himself in the work again. Rinse, repeat. Vex had initially made a game out of counting the number of times she heard a loud sigh come from him but after an hour she lost count.

Vex loves watching him tinker. She loves watching the cogs in his head turn as he worked his way through the process of how to make things work; loves how cute he looks when his brows pull together and he rubs his chin as he mulls over a problem. The curiosity and intensity that emanates from him in the workshop just isn’t there as he pushes himself through the duties he promised Cassandra he’d do.

There’s also the problem that she hasn’t turned the page of her book in nearly ten minutes. Every time she looks down and tries to will herself to keep reading she feels her brain disconnect after a few seconds; feels her thoughts wander to things much different than the dry pages of the book she’s trying to read. She’s been thinking a lot recently. About her. About Percy. About gifts.

Vex slowly sets her book down next to her.

“Percy?” Her voice is soft as it breaks the comfortable silence that has settled over both of them. He makes a noise of acknowledgement, still shuffling through papers with his back to her. Vex presses her lips together and rolls off the bed and onto her feet, smoothing down the wrinkles in her shirt before walking up behind him. She puts a hand on his waist and he jumps, turning around to look at her with wide eyes. She smiles up at him apologetically. “Sorry, darling. Didn’t mean to startle you.”

“No,” he says, shaking his head as he sets the papers he’s been looking at back down on the desk and turns around so he’s facing her. She keeps her hand on his waist and shuffles a little bit closer to him. “I didn’t hear you come up behind me.”

“To be fair, that’s what I do.” He hums at that, a tired smile on his face as he looks down at her. Percy seems to relax in her presence, the tension in his shoulders dropping as his attention is pulled from his work and onto her. Taking a deep breath, she puts a hand against his chest. “Can I talk to you about something?”

He blinks, smile slowly sliding off his face as he hears the more serious tone to her voice. He reaches out and touches her side gently. “Of course.”

“You always give me things,” she says quietly, looking up at his face. He’s handsome. She’s always thought he was, although it didn’t start to matter to her until a couple months before. There’s circles beneath his eyes (they all have them now, but his are heavier than all of theirs combined) and there’s always something so piercing about his gaze, something so inherently clever about him. He hasn’t shaved in a while (and the fact that she knows what that feels like when they kiss continues to blow her away every time she thinks about it) and she has to admit that it looks good on him, even if it leaves him a bit scruffy-looking. She just… she likes him in general. And that seems like something she should be used to thinking by now, but him being not only ‘my friend Percy’ but also ‘my significant other Percy’ still makes her feel like she’s tricking herself somehow.

“I suppose I do,” he agrees slowly, one hand resting lightly on her waist.

“Arrows, parts for the broom…” She shifts closer to him and he slides the hand on her waist around to the small of her back. “The title.”

“I’m quite materialistic when you put it like that.” He chuckles and even though she’s not pressed up against him she can still feel the way it vibrates through his chest, a low rumble between them.

She shakes her head at that. “It’s endearing. But I’ve never really given you anything of note.”

“I can think of something you’ve given that’s very important to me,” he says quietly. Her own voice echoes in her head: _It’s yours. It’s yours. It’s yours. ___

__“Something real, Percy.”_ _

__“I think what you’ve given me is plenty real.” His voice is firm and she rolls her eyes at the sincerity in his voice as he reassures her. Ever the gentleman. It doesn’t stop the way his eyes shine with curiosity as he looks down at her face. “But… are you offering something ‘real’?”_ _

__Well, she’s been thinking about it. She’s been thinking about it _too_ much, if she’s being honest with herself. She slowly plucks one of the feathers from her hair and holds it between them. Percy glances down at her hands and the feather before raising his eyes to meet her’s questioningly. After a moment of hesitation she tucks the feather into his pocket, right over his heart._ _

__There’s a pause as he just… looks down at the feather, his hand raised so he can gently touch it. His silence immediately unnerves her. She hastily raises her hands up, fully intending to pluck it out of his pocket and put it back in her hair where it belongs. “I’m so sorry. This was stupid. Silly. I don’t know why I’m trying to give you one of my feathers. I’m—”_ _

__She’s cut off by him taking her hands in his before she can grab the feather, his lips meeting her cheek very briefly before he pulls back to look at her. “I like it, Vex.”_ _

__“Oh.”_ _

__“If you really want it back I’ll give it to you, of course.” His thumb brushes over her knuckles as he speaks and she feels her heart jump into her throat. “But if you’d let me have it I would be awfully honored.”_ _

__“Honored?” She can’t keep the amusement (and the relief) out of her voice as she speaks. “It’s just a feather, Percy.”_ _

__“But it’s _your_ feather.”_ _

__“If… if you _really_ want it then you can keep it.”_ _

__She watches as his face suddenly lights up the way it often does when he gets an idea. “I have something to give you too. Hold on a moment.”_ _

__Before she can respond he squeezes her hands once more and is out the bedroom door. She stands in place for a couple minutes, mind whirling as she thinks about what he could possibly be getting for her. He hasn’t made her any arrows in a while. It would definitely be a practical gift and an oh so Percy response._ _

__When he enters the room a couple of minutes later he’s clutching something small, though. Too small to be an arrow, something small enough to fit in his palm. As he walks up to her again he takes her hand and places it in it. “For you.”_ _

__Oh._ _

_Oh._

__It’s a thin piece of circular metal, the etchings in its surface familiar. “This is a Whitestone crest, Percy.”_ _

__“Yes,” he confirms, hand still cupping her’s. She looks up at him and whatever expression on her face that he finds when she does must be pitiful and embarrassing because he immediately pulls her to his chest. After a moment of stiffness she relaxes into him, burying her face in his shirt. Percy presses a kiss to her hair and keeps his face tucked there as he continues to speak. “I’ve been meaning to give you something like this since I titled you—something to reflect your place in this city—and I think this is as a good a time as any.”_ _

__There are a lot of things she wants to tell him. She wants to tell him how much it means to her that he gave her the opportunity to find a new home in Whitestone, gave her a place in their city if she would have it. She wants him to know how good it feels to finally belong somewhere for the first time since Byroden was pulled out from under her, more so than even Emon, than the keep. She wants to… well, honestly she sort of wants to burst into tears because she’s so touched. Instead, she manages to get out a small, “Thank you.”_ _

__He’s a clever man, though, and she thinks that he knows how much it means to her even without hearing it in words._ _

__She likes this, she thinks, standing close to him with his heart beating steadily against her and his arms around her. Percy isn’t all sharp edges, as much as he’d like everybody else to think he is. She’s seen it before in their quieter moments; the siege arrow, the night before Syngorn, the woods outside of Draconia. There are parts of Percy that are still soft, still warm and affectionate. The Briarwoods and Ripley and Orthax left deep bruises on his soul—on his heart—ones that might never fully heal. But he’s still Percy. He’s stubborn and impulsive and charming and so, so clever. And as much as he may pretend otherwise, he cares deeply._ _

__And Vex is impossibly, completely in love with him._ _

__She takes a step back from him and he lets her go, arms still circled loosely around her waist. A shaky breath escapes her lips as she gathers herself back up again, hands drifting up to rest on his chest._ _

__“Where do I put it?” She looks down at herself with a frown. She doesn’t want it just… hanging out in the open where it can be knocked off or broken. Percy seems to have the same thought, however, and quickly comes to a solution._ _

__“Here,” he says, gently taking the crest held against his chest from her._ _

__He helps her secure it to her belt. With her coat and cloak on it’ll be barely visible, a small token of his affection unnoticeable unless you know what to look for. She likes that. It’s not that she’s trying to hide their relationship at all (in fact, a selfish part of her wishes she could stitch her name across his cloak so everybody would know just who Percy’s heart belongs to) but there’s just something very intimate about it, something personal. As much as she loves grand gestures, their relationship was built off of small gifts and even smaller gestures. It just seems right._ _

__“Thank you,” she repeats softly a few minutes later, Percy kneeling before her as he fidgets with the crest, trying to make sure it won’t get knocked off in battle. He glances up at her with the brightest smile and the softest expression and her heart just melts. Vex reaches up and runs her fingers through his hair, smiling widely as he leans into her touch. When she speaks again, her voice takes on a more playful tone. “You know, Percy, you look rather good on your knees like that. You should do it more often.”_ _

__His eyes widen as he looks up at her, mouth parted slightly and ears bright pink at the tips. After a moment of silence where he just looks up at her, she worries she overstepped the boundaries of their new relationship. Was that… uncomfortable for him? Did she just ruin a sweet moment because she couldn’t stop herself from making a shitty joke? But then a startled laugh bubbles up from him and she feels relief wash over her. Percy reaches up to run a hand over his face as a grin spreads across it. “I mean… that can be arranged.”_ _

And with that she laughs too—really laughs, her chest feeling as if it was about to burst open with sunshine and flowers—and takes him by the shirt collar and tugs upwards. “Come up here and kiss me, Percy.” 

He does. 

* * *

__“Oh, Vex,” Keyleth gasps, grabbing onto her elbow as they walk towards the Sun Tree. Vex slows to meet Keyleth’s pace, Percy pausing as Keyleth leaves his side. After a moment, he awkwardly shuffles a few steps ahead of both of them._ _

__“What is it?” Vex asks, only to be immediately interrupted by Keyleth lifting a hand to her dark hair. She blinks rapidly, instinctively leaning away from her friend’s hand._ _

__“One of yours feathers is missing.” Keyleth’s eyes go wide at the realization, her bottom lip caught between her teeth. Ahead of them, Percy’s step falters and they nearly crash into him as he stops in his tracks for a split second. He gives them a hasty ‘sorry, sorry’ before picking up his pace yet again. Vex thinks she catches a hint of pink at the tips of his ears._ _

__“Ah. I must have misplaced one.” She reaches up to brush her fingers across her remaining feather, eyes never leaving Percy and the part of him where she knows she misplaced her feather underneath the cloak._ _

__“I can help you find a replacement,” Keyleth offers, still holding into Vex’s elbow. “The two feathers thing is like… your _thing_ , you know? And it’s a really good thing.”_ _

__“You know, I think I’m rather happy with the one feather look,” she says, a small smile spreading across her face. “Besides, I’m sure that if somebody else gets their hands on it, the new owner will be very happy.”_ _

__“Oh. Okay.” Keyleth gives her a confused look, obviously lost. Vex reaches out and pats the druid’s arm._ _

__“It’s okay is what I’m trying to say, darling. Thank you for worrying about my aesthetic.” With that, Keyleth smiles back at her and the group continues their walk to the Sun Tree._ _

__As the group stops at the base of the tree for Keyleth to cast her spell, Vex slides up next to Percy. He glances at her sideways and, yes, just as she thought, there’s a lovely dusting of pink on his ears and across his cheeks. She shoots him a smile and watches as he reaches up to rub the back of his neck before giving her a small smile in response._ _

__As they watch Keyleth work her magic at the back of the group, he leans in closer to her, voice low as he speaks. “I really can give it back if you want.”_ _

__She elbows him gently. “No take backs, darling.”_ _

__As the magic takes hold, a gust of freezing cold wind catches the group, sending cloaks flapping up and making Vex’s eyes sting. It’s only visible for a split second, but she catches sight of the splash of blue under Cabal’s Ruin and her heart swells with affection._ _

__His hand brushes against her’s as they step through the tree and she lets out a content sigh._ _

__Yes. This is something she could get used to._ _


End file.
